Sabian Symbols: Prima Donna singing

Cancer 21 (20° - 21°)

BEING AWARE OF THE PRICE OF SUCCESSDespite the huge social cost of our attainments they almostnever produce the happiness we yearn for

The pursuit of fame and fortune is so commonplace that it forms the core motivation for the majority of people, and our cultural ideas of what is successful are mostly shaped by the measurement of financial wealth or wide social popularity. Rarely does a person enquire of themselves at what price was such success purchased.

Rudhyar:A FAMOUS SINGER IS PROVING HER VIRTUOSITY DURING AN OPERATIC PERFORMANCE

A famous singer is proving her virtuosity during an operatic performance

Excellence

Only when we are aspiring to excellence can we feel alignment with the soul

It’s very interesting that this image has become so ambiguous, in that the phrase prima donna is often used facetiously to point to a person’s unseemly display of superficial self-affirmation. One interpretation of the original meaning is that someone has persistently and rigorously sought perfection in order to improve themselves, and to project their best into the world.

We cannot truly rise to the highest potential version of ourselves without ardent self-improvement, through which our skills and talents are perfected to the level of excellence. The soul’s constant, recurrent rediscovery of itself requires this process of perfecting – and we can feel ourselves aligning with soul only when we are aspiring to excellence.

From this we can infer that excellence is a soul quality – a spiritual practice. The medium that stimulates the expression of soul – in this case singing – tends to vary from place to place and over time, according to currently popular human values.

We can use this as a way to generate sufficient incentive to progress. Our best creativity is encouraged by the popularity received when we tune in to the zeitgeist sensitively enough to become generally favoured. The resultant quality and quantity of attention that flows towards us empowers our efforts.​We all have opportunity to excel at something, but very few fulfil their potential. It is the culmination of several things – aptitude, vision, imagination, effort and opportunity for example – and we need to respect the need for all of them.

Seeing this from the other side – the audience is enabled in an important way. We benefit from being able to live out our dream vicariously – just losing self-limitation in the moment by ‘becoming’ the prima donna on stage ourselves.

This can awaken and stimulate into reality an overflowing richness of self in full command of our own deep and genuine potentials. By pretending to be the celebrity, we are likelier to become the same as her – or at least similar.